Ultrasounds are for More Than Pregnancy

Most patients associate an ultrasound with pregnancy. And it is understandable to have that impression because it is the most common use of such machines. However, ultrasounds have many other functions, especially over the past few years.

Medical Uses

Thanks to advancements in the technology, doctors can use ultrasounds to help patients with abdomen, heart, breast, liver, kidney and other types of issues.

Medical ultrasounds are used to create diagnostic images of different parts of the body. A high resolution ultrasound done at a top facility can help a doctor or surgeon get a good look at different organs and internal body parts.

Sometimes an ultrasound is recommended to check a patient’s recovery progress. The test can also help to detect possible conditions before a doctor decides on the best course of treatment.

Advantages of Using an Ultrasound Machine

Using these ultrasound machines is beneficial to both the doctor and patient. Doctors can get quick and detailed looks inside the body, while a patient does not have to pay huge amounts for more expensive scans. It is understandable that patients are apprehensive about paying more for certain scans, but ultrasounds are inexpensive and the procedure does not take very long to complete.

Contrary to some other tests, ultrasounds also allow doctors to examine the body’s functioning in real time. Since the ultrasound scans are occurring in real time, they can show how the body’s organs are moving during different functions.

For instance, an ultrasound could be used to see how the blood is flowing in and out of a patient’s heart. It could also be used to assess conditions such as gallstones or kidney stones.

Commercial and Industrial Uses

There are a myriad of uses for ultra-sound scans, including outside the medical field. Just a few examples include:

Cleaning precision instruments and jewelry

Testing oil pipelines for flaws and/or cracks

Checking the structural integrity of aircraft

Improving the efficiency of food processing, including freezing and drying

So, ultrasounds are not only used to take good baby pictures. The machines are used for many applications across industrial, commercial and medical industries.